New Mexico governor on Hispanic voters, border reform and potential Mark Kelly VP pick

(CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) spoke with Robert Costa on Face the Nation Sunday on Hispanic voters.

"It is clear to me, or was then, that there was a shift. And New Mexico is a bellwether state, you know, with the largest percentage of Hispanic voters per capita in the country, and that there was a bit of a, if you will, stalling out and that I found very concerning. That was confirmed by national polling that had Biden beating Trump by one percentage point among Hispanic voters. And since his personal decision to certainly put democracy first, I will say, I'm seeing a re-energized- particularly with young voters, which I think is now playing out in national polling, showing Harris beating Trump with Hispanic voters by 19 percentage points." 

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM)

Talks then came to border reform and whether Grisham is confident that Vice President Kamala Harris "can address this issue in an effective way for New Mexico," to which Grisham replied:

"Well, let's do a couple of things. First, I'm going to answer the question. Yes. There's renewed enthusiasm because what the Hispanic voters here want is a prosecutor who's got a history in a border state dealing with border and immigration issues that can cause risk, like her prosecution successfully and transnational gangs on drugs and guns. But they also want someone who is going to be balanced on immigration policy. And that's what the Biden-Harris administration brokered with Congress. And this is the second time we've seen Trump and his cast of characters be really clear. They don't want immigration reform. They want fear, they want division, they're going to continue to demonize Hispanics and Latinos and immigrant communities. And you know what they see? They see someone who's tough, fair, balanced, pragmatic, and somebody they can relate to in terms of her own family. That motivates Hispanic voters."

When asked if this administration needs to do more in terms of allocation of resources and agents at the southern border, Grisham said:

"They do, and they're going to get that opportunity if Republicans in Congress weren't directed to make sure that they did not do anything to pass a bipartisan border deal that put 1,500 more Border Patrol and 1,200 more ICE agents. You bet. And the shift of Border Patrol by President Biden into ports of entry is exactly what we needed, so that we can focus there. And then you minimize, right, you can't seek asylum if you're not coming in a port of entry. That gets at coyotes and those inappropriate crossings. So they both did something based on my urging, and they're on the right side of this new border deal, which will get done when Harris is president, we take the House and we keep the Senate."

During the interview, Costa and Grisham talked about Arizona Senator Mark Kelly being on the list as Harris' potential running mate. When asked how much it would help Arizona and New Mexico to have Senator Kelly be on the ticket, and whether Grisham would recommend Kelly, Grisham answered with:

"My recommendations really shouldn't matter. This is a personal decision, by candidate Harris and the vice president, and I respect that. She's going to make a perfect balance ticket choice. But, look, this is one of the highest per capita enlisted and veteran communities in the country, New Mexico. You've got a veteran, you've got an astronaut, [and] you've got someone who's got a very strong public safety record. Got someone who understands the West, who understands water. It's not just immigration. He would be an incredibly strong pick. You know, the very first images from space were captured from New Mexico in the 40's. This would be a very strong pick. But she's got a really deep bench, which is, I think, another really important facet in this race. The Democrats have people who are ready to move the country forward. She's about progress and the future and Trump is about none of those things."

To watch more of Costa's interview with Grisham, click here.